Pamelia Lake Gear Checklist

What shapes your gear on Pamelia Lake

Permit, cost and pass

Day use at the Pamelia Lake trailhead requires a Central Cascades Wilderness Permit from June 15 to October 15, at $1 per person for each outing. The Forest Service trail page says permits cover both day use and overnight use here. A 2022 Bulletin hiker bought the $1 permit two days ahead and noted that 14 of the wilderness area's 21 trailheads need no permit.

From USDA Forest Service, Willamette National Forest: Central Cascades Wilderness Permits, USDA Forest Service, Willamette National Forest: Grizzly Peak Trail #3428 and The Bulletin

Distances

The Oregon Hikers field guide gives 4.4 miles round trip with 800 feet of gain and a junction at 2.2 miles. Roaming Log lists 4.4 miles and 845 feet. The Bulletin writer reached the lake after a little over two miles and 800 feet. From the junction, Grizzly Peak is 2.8 miles and over 1,310 feet of climbing, and a round trip to Hunts Cove is 11 miles.

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide, Roaming Log, The Bulletin and USDA Forest Service, Willamette National Forest: Grizzly Peak Trail #3428

Flood debris and its name

Boulders piled in the forest are left from a debris flow in November 2006 that buried parts of the trail. The field guide dates it November 6, 2006. The Bulletin attributes it to the Mill Creek landslide, while Roaming Log traces it to a snowfield collapse on Milk Creek and says valley floors were buried under two to three feet of mud and rock.

From Oregon Hikers Field Guide, The Bulletin and Roaming Log

Fire and forest

The 2022 Bulletin hike started in old-growth Douglas fir, western hemlock and western red cedar. It says the forest along the trail was not burned by the 2020 Lionshead Fire, which hit other parts of the Mount Jefferson area and the town of Detroit.

From The Bulletin

How steep Grizzly Peak is

Sources disagree. A 2022 Cappy Trails post calls the climb to the summit gradual over 2.5 miles. A University of Oregon climbing page calls the peak surprisingly steep, and says the trail is exposed in places, so snow and ice call for caution. The Forest Service lists 1,310 feet of climbing in 2.8 miles.

From Cappy Trails, University of Oregon personal climbing pages and USDA Forest Service, Willamette National Forest: Grizzly Peak Trail #3428

What hikers carry on Pamelia Lake

• Repellent that you reapply

  A July 2019 hiker at Hunts Cove put the mosquitoes at 7 out of 10 and said they respected repellent only when it was freshly applied. The field guide calls them abundant in July. The Hunts Cove hiker said they mostly left walkers alone while moving.

  From Oregon Hikers forum and Oregon Hikers Field Guide

• A filter, not the lake

  Roaming Log warns that algae blooms make the lake water unsafe to drink, and the Forest Service says there is no potable water along the Grizzly Peak trail and stream water should be treated.

  From Roaming Log and USDA Forest Service, Willamette National Forest: Grizzly Peak Trail #3428

• Extra water for a hot summit day

  A summer Grizzly Peak hiker took additional water breaks to cope with the heat. The Bulletin writer, who climbed only a mile of the peak trail, turned around to save energy for the lake.

  From Cappy Trails and The Bulletin

• Shoes for an early-season tributary crossing

  The Hiking Project description says a small tributary creek, more than halfway up, can be tricky in spring and early summer. The same hiker also crossed several streams. Around the lake the Bulletin writer found small bridges over creeks and springs.

  From Hiking Project, Cappy Trails and The Bulletin

• A Green Trails map

  The field guide lists Green Trails Mt Jefferson 557 and Three Fingered Jack 589 as the printed maps for this area, and Recreation.gov names several trails from this trailhead.

  From Oregon Hikers Field Guide and Recreation.gov

• Snowshoes or traction in the shoulder season

  A November 2015 Grizzly Peak solo hiker carried snowshoes, never used them, and found water ice on the trail with the snow line near 2,700 feet.

  From University of Oregon personal climbing pages

Gear questions for Pamelia Lake